20 year-old Mélodie Lesueur won the women's French national road race title with a solo attack that left surprised her rivals and stopped Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli taking another time trial and road race double.
Lesueur attacked mid-race with Nadia Triquet-Claude of the strong Vienne-Futuroscope team, blocking the chase behind. But Lesueur then dropped Triquet-Claude on the rolling hills and soloed to victory.
Amélie Rivat (Rhône-Alpes), also just 20, finished 1:55 behind Lesueur, with Longo-Ciprelli taking the bunch sprint for third. At 51, Longo-Ciprelli is older than the two young riders put together.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
